We’ve been waiting for a while now, to see what WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS / HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE director Taika Waititi was going to bring to the table for his installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, THOR; RAGNAROK. Is he going to ramp up on his trademark shits and giggles, as hinted at by the TEAM THOR shorts, or is he going to deliver a more recognisable, mainstream Marvel movie as not to completely mess with the formula?

Well, today sees the release of the first teaser for the film, currently in post-production and due for release in November of this year – and actually, it looks like we’re going to be getting a little bit of both.

The teaser starts with your good ol’ fashioned face-off with God Of Gloriously Good Lookingness Thor (Chris Hemsworth) coming off the worst in a confrontation with RAGNAROK‘s big bad, Hera, played with controlled malice by the mighty Cate Blanchett. After getting slapped several shades of silly by Hela’s wrath, Thor finds himself in the hands (and beautifully well-coiffed hair) of Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster, the lord and, er, master of Sakaar, a planet which should be familiar for fans of Greg Pak‘s 2006 PLANET HULK run.

We then get to see what fans of the Thor/Hulk AVENGERS Helicarrier slapfest have been looking forward for some time: a rematch. A rumble in the jungle, if you will, a tussle in the hizzle. Thor… READY! Hulk… READY! Gladiators… LET THEM FIGHT!!

My money’s on the big guy. No, the other big guy. Blimey, flip a coin, will you?

(Also great to see shots of IDRIS ELBA and TOM HIDDLESTON in there, too – the boys are back in town.)

image credit: comicbookmovie.com

THOR: RAGNAROK is the seventeenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, written by Eric Pearson, produced by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, and directed by New Zealand director Taika Waititi. It sees Chris Hemsworth reprising his role as the God Of Thunder, with Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk) alongside Brits TOM HIDDLESTON (Loki), IDRIS ELBA (Heimdall) and ANTHONY HOPKINS (Odin) all returning to the franchise; the film also has new additions in the forms of Jeff Goldblum (Grandmaster), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie) and Cate Blanchett (Hela) rounding out the cast. After the events of AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, Thor – held captive on the planet Sakaar without his hammer – must win a gladiatorial duel against an old friend — the Hulk — in order to return to Asgard in time to stop the villainous Hela and the impending Ragnarök, the doom of the Asgardian civilization. THOR: RAGNAROK is scheduled for a 3rd November 2017 U.S. release – no raven yet has been sent on a European release date.